The Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) and the Delhi Police are in the process of forming ‘an integrated front’ to ensure last-mile safety for female users of public transport on close to 255 routes.
According to a source, the DTC has written to the police requesting data on locations and stretches identified as ‘vulnerable spots for women’ on which both agencies plan to pool in available safety resources for travellers.
“Yes, we have sought information from the police on such routes so that better arrangements and a security blanket can be put in place,” DTC chairman-cum-managing director Debashree Mukherjee told The Hindu .
A senior DTC official said the letter had been despatched to the operations unit of the Delhi Police, which is in the possession of a quantified list of 250-255 routes identified as ‘dark spots’.
A police source said these included Press Enclave Marg near Select Citywalk mall in Saket, New Mehrauli Road, Mehrauli-Gurgaon Road, Gurudwara Road near Malviya Nagar and Shivalik Road near Aurobindo College in South Delhi, Chhatra Marg, Nicholson Road and Boulevered Road in North Delhi and Hailey Road, Madhav Rao Scindia Marg and Ferozeshah Road in Central Delhi among many others.
“These routes are either located close to recreational areas frequented by women or near BPOs and MNCs which employ a lot of women,” said a senior police officer.
As has already been reported by The Hindu , the DTC had recently written to the Central Government seeking access to the Nirbhaya Fund for installation of CCTV cameras aboard all its buses.
According to the Delhi Government’s Directorate of Economics & Statistics, ridership on DTC buses plummeted by the absence of 3.3 lakh commuters per day during 2013-14.